Deny Deny Deny

Wow it’s already week four - at this stage in the first season, it was already more than half way over but in this, the third season we are not even third of the way in.

After the quick third episode recap we catch up with Bethenny as Jason gets home from work to find her lounging in her own branded SG bathrobe, after the obligatory baby/baby/baby exchange B discovers one of the best things about living with someone. There’s always someone to vent at; and baby did she vent! She recaps the Jill Stuart fashion show run in with Jill and LuAnn and once that’s done Jason decides that now is the perfect time to resolve their separate living arrangements with a cryptic “but before we can do that a commitment will be made. “ It’s sort of a pre-proposal proposal with a property lease attached.

Pamella Roland makes her second RHONY appearance (Alex, Bethenny and I went in Season One) as LuAnn and Kelly arrive. Kelly needs a pointer on how she should introduce LuAnn and after a couple of suggestions we learn that Kelly’s definition for ‘Countess’ is ‘charitable’ and ‘lovely.’ I am sure Kelly has her very own copy of the ‘Dictionary of Iconic and Superlative Adjectives’ as it seems she uses at least one in every sentence. While LuAnn thanks her for the compliment she decides that yes, she should be called Countess as “it is her name.” LuAnn, it’s not your name. That would be LuAnn de Lesseps or originally LuAnn Nadeau but ‘Countess’ is just an honorary title, to be used in lieu of Miss, Ms or Mrs, that you received when you were the wife of a Count.

Bethenny arrives and LuAnn suddenly has full color in her face as clearly her blood pressure is increasing. Bethenny decides to give her a run for her money but at least as far as we saw, the dig that B accuses L of making seemed pretty innocuous to me. After a quick set of photos with Lisa Rinna (AKA Mrs Harry Hamlin) Bethenny decides another fashion show altercation is called for. After LuAnn states how she and Jill are ‘very good friends” Bethenny tells her the types of things Jill’s been saying about LuAnn for sometime. B goes on to call her a snake (LuAnn not Jill) and LuAnn for once actually holds her own. They sit down to watch the fashion show (although the seats behind them are still pretty deserted) and just after Kelly states how embarrassed she is to see them argue. LuAnn’s conscious gets the better of her and she states to Bethenny that she is not a skank. Now last I checked my dictionary a snake is a limbless reptile and a skank is a promiscuous female. However could LuAnn have gotten confused? Arguments done, we get a quick 15 second clip of Pamella’s clothes – I wonder if Ms Roland will consent to filming in future seasons.

We’re back at fashion week and this time Ramona is joined by Avery and after waking around back stage quelle surpris Kelly was there? Kelly decides she had deserved an invitation to Ramona’s Labor Day party and honestly this was one instance where the ‘tell it like it is‘ Ramona went AWOL and after a number of garbled excuses we cut to Kelly stating she should have just said, “No I didn’t want you there!’ Indeed!

But as if to rub it in Kelly tells Ramona that she has to leave as she’s taking Jill to a party that Perez Hilton is hosting, and Ramona sadly and suddenly seemed star stuck – Kelly invites her and she accepts. After putting Avery in a cab to get home, Kelly & Ramona head off to party with Perez. I am not sure why Kelly decided to couch this as an invitation she had granted to Jill, as we all had received invitations to attend. Despite the unwarranted accusation that Alex and I are only too happy to turn up to any event, this was one on which we gladly passed. Yes, even Alex and I have standards. After Perez peers down Jill’s dress we get a relatively quiet scene where Kelly gets to give a 1st person impression of the altercation between Bethenny and LuAnn although, as usual, she gets interrupted by Jill who having not been present still apparently feels more than able to give her two cents, again, again and again.

Finally we get a respite from fashion shows and faux fashion parties and get a chance to see some SG margaritas sipped in the middle of the day. Alex joins Bethenny and fleetingly we have a chance to see seemingly two rational human beings have a normal conversation (albeit about Jill) and then Kelly turns up. ‘Nuf said.

After a succession of scenes involving three housewives it’s as if the producers deemed we needed a break from their internecine drama. Surely it’s better to follow a lighthearted easy going photo shoot with Jill, her sister Lisa and their Mom Gloria. Or perhaps not, as it promptly brings back memories of the comfort and seat height of Bobby’s entire fleet of automobiles. After Gloria decrees that “Mother is not happy,” we promptly cut to Jill who explains that trying to keep either her Mother or her sister happy is a challenge. Evidently that’s a Kamen family trait as Jill could have been talking about herself. I should acknowledge that at least Gloria was being honest with us all and not trying to change her behavior just because she’s about to launch a book they’ve jointly written presumably about their best secrets Motherhood. So did I tell you the one about when three Jewish mothers walked into a photoshoot? Nah, sorry, it’s a secret and it’s better if it stays that way.

Bethenny meets Ramona for a quick drink and initially Ramona takes the role of diplomat until she inquires whether Bethenny’s been invited to Jill’s event the following night at Saks. High school it’s all high school, says Ramona which unfortunately four episodes in is proving to be the case.

Over at Jill’s, LuAnn joins her to prepare for the upcoming Saks event, which provides Gloria a chance to give us another dose of her ‘wisdom.' Last season Bethenny, this one LuAnn. Methinks Abby and Ann Landers are safe for a little while. Jill had been pretty active between seasons and was able to put together a very impressive private dinner despite the unfounded rumor that Ramona alluded to. I do though have to agree with Ramona that the Alexander McQueen dress worn by Jill that night just didn’t look right on her. Yes, it was too metallic but much worse than that, it was not at all a flattering fit on her.

Kelly arrives wearing what seems to be a fur vest designed as shoulder pads as worn by a football player. Alex & I are seen arriving and honestly a couple of days prior I was concerned that I might be being set up for a reprise of the infamous GNO crashing of season 1, but this time I was determined to be smarter; cover all my basis and I did. No drama about crashing when of course, just like on that previous occasion I hadn’t. Alex I got to shop, LuAnn got to narrate but most amusing was when Alex and I were speaking with LuAnn about an up coming event she was planning for SecondTimeAround.net. I had a subtle dig regarding Mario’s ‘tasteless joke’ regarding her title which backfired completely when big ears pipes in. “Mario?”, are you still talking about Mario?” Ramona clearly didn’t believe LuAnn’s denials and so thought she’d really get to her by telling Alex and me that LuAnn didn’t want us at her house on Labor Day anyway. This is the perfect segue to a pretty difficult scene for me to watch. I have no idea where I was but I didn’t know about this until later that night at home. Alex is telling Ramona that she needs to talk with Jill and vent about Jill’s constant harping about our chums when up walks Jill. Alex implores Ramona to play bartender and Alex speaks to Jill. Of course, we then cut to Jill in interview saying she didn’t do anything wrong. Deny.deny.deny. and then goes onto to state what an inappropriate place it was to discuss? Jill, do you mean like at Ungaro last week? Anyway I hate to see Alex cry, but they were the tears of a wounded Mom and all I can say is watch out when those tears are replaced by anger. I did notice Jill’s apology in her blog last week however that seemed more of an apology about our upcoming book than continually talking smack about our kids. Lastly despite Jill’s interview that Alex’s tears had nothing to do with her, I can confirm how wrong she is and was.

So we have dinner, watch a fashion show (well actually only a few of us did – most were too busy gossiping to enjoy the clothes) and then Ramona after sweetly consoling LuAnn over that day’s divorce decree goes on to quiz Kelly, as only Ramona can, on whether she’s had her breasts redone in preparation for her playboy shoot? Was it an appropriate question – in polite society perhaps not but when you’re on a TV show and about to strip for Playboy it seems fair enough to me.

On that note – the episode is starting live and I need to get this in so you can hopefully read it in an hours time.

Sonja: Don't Take Yourself Too Seriously

Sonja explains why she and Ramona are family, why she's hiring Aviva, and why LuAnn is still her friend.

At this point, I am numb to the whole BookGate debate. I am not on anyone's side, I just hope that both books are bestsellers and that Carole and Aviva are making enough money to pay the bills with their books because BookGate has definitely taken an emotional toll on their friendship. I know that they were close and had great times together. In fact, Carole was once the godmother to Aviva's daughter. How can this come between them? Such contention over the accusations! I don't know why they let it get so heated. It's not worth it! I just hope that they can forgive each other at some point. As you get to know someone, you get to see their strengths and weaknesses -- and you have to accept those if you're going to be friends.

I was surprised when the girls laughed at me discussing my ability to forgive and voicing my Christianity. I think that it is one of the reasons that I can live my own life and not worry about everyone else's or the grass being greener. It's all relative. We are on Earth for such a short time. I am enjoying every day of my life. I am grateful for the family and friends that I have and my beautiful daughter.

I have so much more than many other people, and I remind myself of that every day with the charity work that I do. That's why I feel so much more comfortable working with artists, animals, the LGBT, and children. It's such a sensitive, caring, and loving place to be. I love my Sonja In The City event planning business because it lets me be me -- an artist and a promoter -- while helping others reach their highest capabilities. Plus I get to do all that while helping me get my daughter through school in a stable environment. It keeps me connected to the movers and shakers who help me manage my investments. I love to produce and to contribute. It makes me feel good.

I believe some of the women fail to take me seriously because I only show them my party side. There is a private side to me that most people don't see, because they only see me out at social events and while I'm entertaining. I throw a lot of events, so a lot of people only see that side, as it's my business and the way I broker some of my deals.

It is amazing how moms like Heather find strength to do dealing with their children's issues, like her son's health and hearing loss. It's what we do with loved ones. We do it with marriage partners too! I surprised myself when my ex had a terrible accident and I was called upon to deal with all of the doctors, therapists, and financial advisors.

I dont feel that Ramona called Aviva vile. She said that she had a vile side. That's different!

I'm not upset that Ramona spoke behind my back about my financial problems. She's human, and I spoke my feelings then and we worked through it the way that family does. We have too much water under the bridge to let opinions or men get in between us.

Heather questioning the legitimacy of my friendship with Ramona is just silly. She knows that we have been friends forever and whatever I have said about Ramona I have told her to her face. Heather knows this very well -- since I'm very upfront about my feelings with her.

The girls saying that Aviva's leg throw was staged is silly. I let Aviva know that everyone was saying she was fake. Even if she plans to throw it on the table to make a point, that doesn't make it staged. It just means she was pushed to a limit. I thought she was hilarious. After all, it was a private party in the back room. We weren't in the actual restaurant. Aviva doesn't go around throwing her leg around in normal restaurant situations. Maybe she and I should take her act on the road! A real dog and pony show! I always said I was a performer, a comedian, and a producer. At my Sonja In The City parties, now we can include Aviva as part of the show!

My overall thoughts of the season was that the reunion had more drama. I felt the season
flip-flopped around quite a bit. Harry and I will always have a very strong relationship, just as Ramona and Aviva will always be in my life. Aviva's son Harrison is like my family.

Ramona was definitely going through something this season. I let her know I was upset, but I can't change her and she can't change me. We accept each other the way we are and we work our differences out.

I didn't know LuAnn was going through a breakup. She never shared that with me, and I was getting upset that she wasn't trusting my friendship and was blaming me for everything. I didn't give any credence to any of the rumors that were going around town through the salon that Satoko worked at. Kristen and I just asked the facialist to tell us for fun. I can't stop LuAnn from running out of parties with my guys -- just like I can't stop Harry from taking off and leaving me because he knows I want commitment and he wants to fool around. But that doesn't mean LuAnn's not my friend and that I can't speak my mind in front of her, and it doesn't mean that Harry isn't someone that I love as well.

I hope that you found the season entertaining. I hope that you don't take yourself too seriously! And when the naysayers back you into the corner, just say what Glinda the Good Witch said to the Wicked Witch of the West "Be off with you, your black magic doesn't work here!"